


Night Drive

by dreamerfound



Category: Hawkeye (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Insomnia, Sharing a Bed, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 07:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12979374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerfound/pseuds/dreamerfound
Summary: Clint can't sleep so decides to go for a drive, Kate joins him despite the fact that she wasn't invited.





	Night Drive

**Author's Note:**

> written for fan_flashworks challenge #211: drive

Clint was halfway out the door when he ran into Kate. “Where you heading this time of night Hawkeye?” she asked. 

“Can’t sleep, going for a drive” Clint said gruffly as he pushed past Kate.

“Cool, I call shotgun!” Kate ran past him to the car, pulled a set of keys from her front pocket and let herself in.

Clint frowned and shook his head. “I don’t remember inviting you.” 

“Good thing I have my own set of keys then, huh?” 

Clint got in the car and slammed the door. “Whatever, just keep the incessant yammering to a minimum so I can at least try to relax. I’d like to get some sleep tonight.” 

Kate looked at the clock on the dash. The glowing green numbers showed that it was already two hours after midnight. “I think that ship has sailed. Were you planning on falling asleep at the wheel? Like as an actual plan? I’d like to advise you against that particular plan if you were. It seems like that would be a bad idea, especially with the snow and all.” 

Snow? Clint sighed and looked up at the sky. There were snowflakes just starting to fall. It figured. “Crap, whatever - just buckle up, okay?” Clint started the car. It was just a few flurries. He wasn’t planning on being out that long, especially now that Kate had invited herself along for the ride.

Clint headed out of the city and onto the highway without any particular destination in mind. Kate cranked the radio to a station playing songs Clint had never heard before. Probably all the latest hits. The world seemed to be moving on without him. It sucked getting old. Still, he didn’t complain when she sang along. It kept her from asking him too many questions that he didn’t have the answers for. 

A half an hour passed and the snow started getting heavier another half an hour and it started sticking to the road. “Crap,” he said out loud.

“Told you.” Kate turned to him and gave him a knowing look. 

“You told me it was snowing, you didn’t say anything about a snowstorm.”

“Didn’t I?” Kate turned back to the radio. “Oh, I love this song” She started singing again and Clint kept his eyes on the road. 

Several songs later Kate abruptly turned the radio off. “Um, Clint? I think maybe we should find a place to pull over or something, or turn around or just not be on the road much longer, you know?” 

Clint kept his eyes on the road. “It’s just a little snow, I know how to drive in the snow.” 

“Sure, sure. I get that, I do, but maybe...I don’t know, humor me?” Kate was watching the snow pile up on the road. It was looking a bit dangerous to her and visibility was starting to diminish. She admired Clint’s determination but she really hoped she didn’t end up regretting his stubbornness. "Dying in a ditch in the middle of a blizzard wasn’t really the ending I was hoping for. Not that I was hoping for any kind of ending mind you, particularly any time in the near future, you know?"

Clint gritted his teeth. Kate talked too much. He had only wanted a nice peaceful drive, alone, so he could clear his head and then get back to bed. Now he was stuck out on the road with Kate, in what was shaping up to look like a blizzard. He hadn’t signed up for this. “Fine” he grumbled and took the next exit. “I saw a motel sign for this exit, maybe we can get a room for the night and ride out of the storm there.” 

Kate cheered. It was nice to know that Clint could think rationally from time to time. They made it to the motel safe and sound and seeing the vacancy sign was lit Kate cheered again.

“I could really do without the cheering.” Clint sounded tired.

Kate stuck her tongue out at him and got out of the car. There were several inches of snow on the ground and it was continuing to come down heavy. Kate turned her face up to the sky so she could catch snowflakes on her tongue. She liked the snow, she just didn't want to get caught out on the road in it.

“Come on Hawkeye, time to check-in,” Clint said.

Kate tried skipping to the door, but it was too slippery. “Should’ve worn boots,” she muttered.

The place still had one room left. Unfortunately, it only had one bed. “I’ll take the sofa,” Clint said as he slipped the key in the lock. He looked around the small beige room. There was a bed in the center of the room, a chair by the window and a bedside table on the other side. No sofa in sight. Clint groaned. He just wanted to get some sleep.

“At least it’s a Queen,” Kate said flopping down on the bed. 

Clint toed his sneakers off and kicked them into the corner. “Whatever, I’ll take the floor.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, we can share the bed.” Kate patted the mattress in invitation.

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea” 

“The world’s not going to end because we sleep next to each other in the same bed. It’s just sleep, we’re both tired, it’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words” Clint sat down on the other side of the bed. 

“Oh my god Barton, you’re such a drama queen!” Kate slipped her shoes off and stashed them under the bed. She started to pull down the comforter, then thought better of it. Who knew when the sheets were last washed. She tried to get comfortable on top of the bed. Clint was still sitting. “Are you going to lay down and go to sleep or is this some new and improved sleeping position?”

“Just waiting for you to get comfortable,” Clint said.

“I’m as comfy as I’m likely to get on this bed” 

Clint laid down next to Kate, making sure not to touch her. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to take advantage of their situation. 

Kate rolled onto her side, head propped up on her arm. “So what was keeping you up?”

Clint turned his head to look at her. “What?” 

“What drove you out of the apartment and into the snowy night?” 

“Just couldn’t stop my thoughts. They just kept spinning and spinning and I couldn’t get to sleep. Finally, I gave up. I thought maybe a drive might help me clear my head.”

“Did it?” 

Clint shook his head. “Not really.”

“So, tell me about it.”

“What?” Clint wasn’t really comfortable with any of this. Not sharing a bed with Kate and definitely not spilling his emotional guts all over the place in front of her.

“Come on, tell me what’s on your mind, it might help. I won’t even add any snarky comments” Kate really did want to know what was keeping Clint up at night. It was partly curiosity, but mostly because she cared about him. He was her best friend.

“Fine.” Clint rolled over so he was facing Kate, arm crossed tightly across his chest. “Lately I’ve just been feeling like there’s not really any point to what I’ve been doing. This whole superhero thing. Am I really making a difference? For the better? Sometimes it feels like I’m fucking things up at least as much as I’m helping, if not more.” Clint sighed.

“I think we all feel like that at some point, some of us more than others maybe.” Kate knew what he meant, but most of the time she thought she was doing more good than not. "You just have to go out there and do your best, at the end of the day you hope that's enough."

“I'm not sure it is for me. I’m getting old Kate, this superhero thing is a young person’s game. I'm starting to think that it's time for me to retire, maybe get a cabin out in the woods somewhere.” 

Kate pushed Clint gently on the shoulder, pushing him over on his back. “I would miss you.” 

“Thanks.” 

Clint still sounded sad so Kate scooted over and rested her head on his chest. “I think you’re doing more good than bad Clint, I really do. And I should know, I’m out there with you, fighting the good fight right by your side. You're the reason that I started this gig. Some days you're the reason I still do it.”

“Thanks, Katie” Clint relaxed and kissed the top of Kate’s head. He felt better. At least he didn't still feel like quitting at the moment.

“You are kind of old though.” Kate smiled to herself. She knew she had promised no snarky comments, but it served him right for calling her, Katie. Clint didn’t respond and first, she thought maybe he had taken offense at her comment and then she heard him snore and realized he had fallen asleep.


End file.
